The Dark Knight of the Mist
by JDH1080
Summary: Fate is a funny thing, but when it's altered and changed it's a very interesting concept. Here we see how Cecil's fate is changed when he is lost and presumed dead by Baron. Watch as he becomes the Dark Knight of the Mist.
1. Gone

**Well I wrote this some time ago, and I just never posted it so I decided to do so, I'll admit that this chapter is pretty short, I know, I know. Anyway, this story, right now I will tell you that for the most part it will be a retelling of FFIV, but know that there will be some deviances especially in the beginning and in some of the character development that aspired throughout the actual game. And also the ending of FFIV will be altered a bit. So without further ado, I bid you my first FFIV story, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own FFIV, so lawyers you can't sue. **

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><p>The Dark Knight of the Mist<p>

Chapter One: Gone

Cecil Harvey stood on the deck of his crew's airship, as the new Captain of the Baron Red Wings he had just completed his first mission, and it had gone off without a hitch. Now he and his men were making their trip back to Baron. Things were going fairly well for the young Cecil, he had proven his worth as Captain of the Red Wings and he would be returning to his two closest friends with no injury.

'And I was worried.' The young Dark Knight thought with a silly grin.

_Kain and Cecil sat under the dark shade of a giant oak tree. The two were exhausted from a long day of sparing and right now the two friends were simply enjoying the silence of the world. "Tomorrow."_

"_Hmm?" A tired and somewhat weary Kain questions his long time friend. _

"_Tomorrow is my first mission as Captain of the Red Wings." Cecil grimly states with a frown as his blue eyes scan at the green scenery of the inside castle walls. _

"_Congratulations?" Kain says a bit unsure of where his long time friend is going with this. _

"_I'm…I'm a little worried." Cecil admitted. "I keep wondering wither or not I'll come back…" Kain stares at his friend, upon seeing that Cecil is completely serious Kain keeps his silence. "If I don't come back I want you…I want you to protect Rosa."_

"_That's enough of that." Kain sternly says. "I know that you'll be back, and Rosa will greet you after you're mission as always." Kain says as he feels a small pang of jealousy at that truth but fights it down for his friend's sake._

"_I hope you're right but…"_

"_Alright." Kain says interrupting his friend. "if you don't make it, which I know you will, I promise on my honor as a Dragoon to protect Rosa."_

"_Thank you." Cecil says with a grateful smile as he stands to his feet. "Well I'm going to go wash up, see you later." Cecil says as he takes his leave. _

_Kain only stays silent as he stares at the stone floor. "You're being paranoid." He states as he tries to fight down the odd sensation in him. "Cecil, you'll be fine." Kain states before standing to his feet and exiting the courtyard as well. _

'I guess I was just being paranoid, just like Kain said.' Cecil mentally says with a smile.

"Captain!" A voice shouts breaking Cecil from his memories.

"Huh?"

"We're under attack! A dragon is approaching at high speed from behind!"A young officer named Biggs informed Cecil.

The Dark Knight of the Baron Red Wings jumped down from his post and began barking orders. "Prepare to fight back, all men to stations!" Cecil calmly and sternly ordered as he drew his sword.

"Sir!" Biggs said as he went to prepare for a battle.

Cecil moved towards the back of the ship to get a good look at the dragon and couldn't help but gasp when he saw it. 'Can we even win?' He wondered as he studied the colossal golden dragon make a series of twist and turns throughout the air. 'No matter, we're the Red Wings. There's nothing we can't defeat.' Cecil mentally states as he heads back to the front of the ship.

The young Dark Knight can easily see that his men are afraid. "Men do not fear. This enemy is but one, we are many; we are the Red Wings of Baron! Let's do our country proud!" The men nodded and shouted out their own individual war cries.

"Let's see if Cid's old rust bucket can out maneuver that gigantic lizard!" The man steering the ship yelled as he started turning the wheel in a fast motion in one direction before quickly spinning the wheel back.

Cecil breathed out slowly as he stood on the edge of the right ship. "Fire!" He shouts as the dragon appears at the side of the ship. The giant golden dragon gave out a roar of pain and rage at the canons being fired upon him.

The dragon attempts to swipe at the ship, fortunately the pilot of the Red Wings was quick to out-maneuver the huge dragon The swipe missed by a good mile as the pilot had quickly made a sharp turn. "Second Raid!" Cecil shouts as the canons fire again.

It's at that time Cecil jumps onto the dragon as it is close enough to the ship. 'Okay, let's end this.' He states as he stabs his dark aura infused sword into the back of the dragon.

The golden dragon let's out a roar of agony as it tries to knock Cecil off. "Captain!" Wedge yells from his post. "Get off of there!" He shouts fearing for his commander's safety. Cecil nods to himself deciding that he doesn't have a death wish, so he smartly and swiftly jumps back onto his ship.

"Damn it!" Cecil shouts as he runs through the deck of the ship. 'I'm starting to wish that I had brought a bigger fleet!' For his first mission Cecil had decided that only a single ship would be necessary which meant that if they were ambushed then the chances of winning were low. "Men prepare to retreat!" He shouts. "We cannot take on such a foe." He calmly announces "At least not by ourselves." It's just then he stops as he hears an odd noise. Turning back he sees the golden dragon charging up a gigantic fireball in its mouth. 'Mother of god…' Is all he can mentally say as the dragon gives a mighty roar as it releases its fire ball attack.

A direct hit, the airship spun out of control as flames exploded from the haul which caused the ship to give a violent sputter. Cecil, as well as everyone on the ship can feel it sinking at an alarming rate. Before the Dark Knight knew it he was on the ground, his ship almost completely destroyed. All that remained was charred remains of the once proud ship of the Baron Red Wings.

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><p>Baron-Kain's room.<p>

'Huh?' Kain thinks as he feels a weird sensation in the back of his head. Looking at the twin moons he feels an odd feeling. It is one of sorrow and pain. 'Why?' He questions. 'Why do I feel like…crying?' He questions as a lone tear unwillingly escapes his eye. It wouldn't be until tomorrow that Kain would have his answer.

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><p>The crashed sight.<p>

"Refia! This one's still alive!" A young man yells as he attempts to lift up the half alive Dark Knight. "Shit." He hisses to himself as he finds that he is unable to lift the debris. "He's stuck underneath all of this crap! I'll get more help!" He shouts as he heads back towards his nearby village.

The young woman walks over towards the half-alive Dark Knight and places two fingers on his neck to look for a pulse. 'You…you're strong.' She decides as she can feel a steady pulse beating. Standing back up Refia glances towards her village of the mist as she ponders how this new development could affect the steady lives of her villagers. 'What would he do?' She wonders as she bends back down and starts using a low level white magic spell to stop the Dark Knight from bleeding to death.

Not too far away in a small house a small green girl looked up to the sky as she saw smoke. "What's happening?" Young Rydia asked herself as she continued to stare up into the blue sky that was blackened with smoke. For some reason it felt as though something huge had happened, and Rydia felt that this new development would involve her. But for the life of her the young child couldn't figure out what, at least not yet could she.

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><p><strong>And there is the first chapter. Please send me reviews, tell me what you think, what I can improve on, besides chapter length that is. -_-'<strong>


	2. My name is Cecil I think

**Sorry that it took so long to update, I know that it's been a while and I'm sure that some of you probably assumed that you would never see the second chapter. Well I was going to update at a much earlier time, but as I looked back and re-read this chapter, as well as the third chapter I thought "Oh my god this is crap, I can't post this stuff." So I re-wrote it all, and here is the second chapter. I promise to have the third chapter out as soon as I can. So, enjoy. **

**Revised: Well it came to my attention that this fic had a number of problems here and there as concerns to grammar and certain dialogue problem. So I am trying to fix some of these. Anyway here is the new revised chapter 2**

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><p>The Dark Knight of the Mist<p>

Chapter Two: My name is Cecil…I think

A young woman who appeared to be of the age 30 or so walked into a small rarely used room of her house. In her hand was a small wooden bucket with cool water in it, walking over to the bedside of a young white haired youth she placed the bucket onto the hardwood floor. Dropping to one knee she grabbed a small wash cloth that was in her pocket and gently placed it into the cool water.

Just as she was about to place the cloth onto the man's forehead a high voice gently called out. "Is he going to be okay, mommy?" Looking behind her Refia noted that her daughter, little Rydia was staring at the young man with such fascination as the green haired child had never seen someone in such a condition "He doesn't look so good." The girl softly comments as she continues to stare at the young white haired man.

"Don't stare, Rydia." The older woman gently scolded her daughter as she placed the damp cloth to the young man's forehead. "He'll be okay, he's just running a small fever, it will take some time to go down." The woman walked over to the door of the room. Looking back she noted that Rydia was standing at the young man's bedside. "Rydia?" She called softly.

"Yes mommy?" The young green haired girl questioned as she turned to look at her mother. "What is it?"

"How long are you going to be by his side?" The young woman hesitantly questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I mean it might not be a good idea for you to be near him."

"Why?"Rydia questioned as she tilted her head.

'Because he could be dangerous, and I don't want to lose you like how I lost your father.' Was Refia's true answer but the words fell dead on her lips. "Because I'd rather you not getting sick…" The young woman finished lamely.

Rydia gave her mother an odd look before breaking out in a huge grin. "It's fine mommy. I'm a big girl, a little cold won't hurt me, and I wanna watch over him."

Refia bit her lip as her daughter turned back to the man and watched him peacefully sleep. Sighing she looked over at the clock, letting out a quiet groan she rushed to the other room to grab her coat. "Rydia?" She called back out. Not giving her child a chance to answer she continued. "I have to go visit the council for a little bit, will you be okay by yourself?"

Rydia nodded. "Of course mommy." The four year old answered. "I can handle myself." She said hoping to sound more mature than she actually was.

Refia shook her head with a small smile. "If you need anything while I'm gone you can ask the elderly couple next door." Refia informed her daughter as she headed for the door.

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><p>Once Rydia heard the sound of the door opening and closing she released a sigh. She scanned the young man lying in the bed before her. He was very young, maybe sixteen or so. He had white hair that went just past his shoulders.<p>

"Who are you?" Rydia questioned softly as she placed a hand on the man's arm.

She pulled it back when he let out a groan of pain. "My…name…is…Cecil." He murmured in his sleep. Rydia looked at the man with pure curiosity.

For some reason upon first laying eyes on the sleeping man Rydia couldn't help but feel drawn to him. She didn't know what it was, she'd guess that maybe it was his hair. Not many men had white hair, unless they were very old. And little Rydia could easily guess that this man was at least a good ten or so years older than her at the most. So she'd doubt he was an old man.

'Maybe this is just how people look outside of home?' The young man, Cecil she'd assume his name to be did look a bit out of place among the village in the Mist. Young Rydia had never met a man or person who intrigued her developing mind so much.

"…I'm Rydia," She said hoping that the young man might wake up and talk to her. At his continued silence she continued speaking. "I've never had a friend before. Will you be my friend?" The young green haired girl questioned with hope in her voice. Receiving no reply Rydia answered for him. "Then starting today you're my best friend!" The young green haired girl said with the hopes that he would awaken.

And after a second the young girl gave a gasp as his eyes slowly opened. Rydia watched with amazement as the young man gave a groan as he looked around his unfamiliar surroundings. "Who are you?" He questioned the little girl as she came into view.

Rydia gave him her best toothy grin as she greeted him. "I'm Rydia, nice to meetcha." The green haired girl said remembering to be polite as her mother always instructed her to be. "You're my new friend, Cecil!" Her pearly whites showed as she looked at the man, gauging his reaction.

His answer baffled her. "Cecil? Is that my name?" The man inquired to which the young girl gave a confused look.

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><p>While this was happening High Summoner Refia had just entered the council room of the Summoners of the Mist. As she walked to the center she took a look at all of the six Summoners. By far, she was the youngest of them all. The other Summoners who surrounded her were all aged quite greatly while Refia was only just reaching age 30.<p>

A old man stood to his feet as he looked the young summoner over. "What is the condition of the young man that was found in the wreckage of Kaipo Desert?" Elder Simon inquired.

Refia kept a calm look on her face as she glanced at all of the other summoners. Despite her knowing what they're faces looked like they all had their hoods down. For some reason they always felt it was better to give off an illusion of them being ominous. Refia mentally sighed as it annoyed her of how the old geezers, as she called them in her head, acted.

"He is fine." She simply said. At the old Summoner's look she continued. "He has yet to regain consciousness, and it seems that he has contracted a small fever. It could be a while until he wakes up. So until then we really can't take any action."

"That's a lie and you know it!" One of the old Summoners called out his voice was gruff and distorted in rage. "We must expel him from our home. I recognized that ship he was found nearby. He is of Baron! He is a snake, and if we do not get rid of him fast he shall lead destruction upon our peaceful village! Have you forgotten about Lu-?"

The words of the aged Summoner died out as voices began to fill the room to the brim. Simon and Refia watched in astonishment as the council badgered and verbally attacked each other over the matter of wheatear or not the young man would be allowed to recover in the village. Refia didn't know what to do; to her it was like history was repeating. 'They were against the last outsider who was here. But they weren't so forceful or angry.' She thought to herself as she looked down at the floor that she couldn't even see because of the dank dark room.

"Enough!" Elder Simon yelled which caused Refia to snap out of her thoughts and the Summoners to stop their insolent babble. "There will be no more talk of this matter. Refia, as head of the council will be allowed to house this man, if he proves to be a danger he shall be expelled, and Refia will also pay the consequences, which will be decided at a later date! Are we all clear?" The usually gentle man snarled out at the council who reluctantly agreed.

Giving a stiff nod Refia turned to Elder Simon. "Very well." Refia said as she bowed. "I accept these terms, I must go home. I need to see if the man has regained consciousness yet." And with that Refia strolled out of the dark and terribly lit council room.

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><p>As Refia walked back to her humble home she noticed that the usually friendly villagers were giving her small looks of suspicion. She couldn't help but feel a bit unease at this, and not to mention at how surprising it is at how fast news travels.<p>

'It hasn't even been a whole day and already people know that I'm housing the outsider.' The strawberry haired woman thought in annoyance. Quickly she willed her feet to move faster as she made her way home hoping not to be held up by someone.

"Lady Refia!" A small voice called out as Refia arrived to her house. Turning around she saw a small red haired girl who was looking up at her with lime green eyes. Refia knew this girl to be Misaki, the ten year old daughter of a nearby friend.

"Hello there Misaki." The older woman greeted. "Where's Komaru and Kenta?" She inquired the young girl.

"Dad took the boys over to the crash site to help with the clean up." The young girl informed the older woman. "They won't be back till supper."

Refia nodded hoping to move this conversation along. "Well, tell your father and brothers I said hello. I need to check up on Rydia and uh…" She fumbled for her words.

"The man they found by the wreck." The redheaded girl finished. Looking up at Refia with big innocent eyes she smiled. "It's fine. I understand that it would be wrong to just throw him out for now reason. Grownups aren't always smart, but you're being smart."

Refia gives a small smile. "You're a smart girl. And very understanding," Refia drops down to the young girls level. "We must be kind and accepting of all others. Show no ill intentions to others."

The girl nodded as she looked over at her house. "Well I need to get going, tell Rydia I said hi." She said as she rushed back to her own home.

"See you later Misaki!" Refia called out to the little girl with a wave. Turning around Refia opened the door to her small yet cozy home. Walking in Refia was greeted by the sound of her daughter's voice.

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><p>"Mom's home!" Little Rydia yelled out in excitement as Refia walked into the room where the green haired child and the white haired man were in.<p>

"Oh I see he's awake." Refia said as she looked at the young man warily. Despite wanting to help him she knew that she should be on guard, for all she knew he could be someone dangerous. Putting on a fake smile she greeted him. "What is your name young man?" She inquired as she sat in the chair next to his bed.

The man looked at her with an uncertain look. "Cecil…I think." He muttered the last part out.

That answer baffled the already exhausted Refia. "You think?" The strawberry haired woman mumbled in a little confused.

Rydia looked between her mother and new friend. Giving a smile of innocents she explained. "Momma I don't think that Cecil can remember anything. When he woke up he didn't know who he was."

Refia looked between Cecil and her daughter, not sure what to do. "Okay…" She said uncertain of this development, a part of her felt that she could drop her guard, but at the same time knew that it would be unwise to completely drop it. "I guess we'll be calling you Cecil, at least until you regain you're memory." Refia said while muttering the last part out to herself. Giving a friendly smile she stood up. "I'm Refia, you're free to stay here as long as you like, Cecil." Turning to her daughter Refia inquired if she was hungry.

"Yes, mommy." Rydia said in a cute fashion.

Refia looked up at the clock to see that it was getting fairly late. "Alright then I'll make dinner now. Rydia you keep an eye on our guest." Refia said as she walked out of the room.

Cecil during this exchange was amazed at Rydia. He found it amazing how she seemed so intelligent for a little girl, yet retained the cute and loveable innocents of a four-year old. 'Such a nice family.' He thought to himself as the older woman left the room. 'It's a good thing they found me, whose knows what could have happened if these two had took him in.' He shuddered at how Rydia had told him that he'd been found near a wrecked ship.

Giving a sigh he looked up as he tried to recall something, anything. When closing his eyes Cecil could see the faintest image of a man. A man wearing armor that resembled a dragon. But sadly that was all he could see, for the image blurred and then shifted to something else.

Another man wearing dark armor, Cecil wasn't sure who this man was. He had an aura of familiarity, but Cecil felt like he had never seen the man before. As Cecil opened his eyes to look into the innocent gaze of Rydia he heard the faintest whisper.

'**Golbez.'**

Cecil showed no reaction to the dark, deep whisper. But he knew that this name was important to him. He wasn't sure how, but he felt that this man could possibly hold the answers of his origins. 'Who are you?' Cecil wondered. Sadly the young man knew that he would receive no answers today. But for now he was with the small but loving house hold of Refia and her daughter.

Rydia smiled a large smile as she saw that Cecil's attention was on her. "Let's play house." She suggested in a innocent voice. "I can be the mommy and you can be the daddy." Cecil sighed at this, he felt that this wouldn't be the most pleasant experience.

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><p>"Ah, Kain I see that you have returned from the crash site." The king of Baron said with a pleasant smile. "What do you have to report?"<p>

Kain looked down in sadness. "The ship was damaged beyond repair, there were only two survivors, Cecil didn't make it." The young Dragoon said while staring at his feet.

The king gave a look of sympathy. "I see. Kain you are dismissed." The Dragoon walked out of the king's chamber. Looking to his subjects the king spoke. "A funeral will be hosted in two days times. All citizens of Baron will be allowed into the castle walls on this day. All of you are dismissed." The king said as he stood to his feet.

As the king of Baron walked to his personal chambers he was joined by a man encased in dark armor. "Now that Cecil is gone there is nothing to stop us from gaining all of the crystals." Golbez said as he followed the king.

Nodding the king turned to the armored man. "Yes. And soon they'll be in our hands, Captain of the Red Wings." The king of Baron said with a victorious smile. "Now return to your chambers. You're first mission begins tomorrow, it will take time before we even know where the crystals are."

Golbez bowed to the king. "Yes, you're highness." Golbez replied as he went over to his own chamber.

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><p>'I'm not sure if I can do this.' The battle harden Dragoon thought as he looked at the oak wood of Rosa Farrel's door. Kain gave a sad sigh as he stood in front of Rosa's door. He placed his fist over the wood, and knocked. A few seconds later the white wizard Rosa opened the door.<p>

Seeing Kain she felt her throat close up, it was obvious why he was here, from the way his figure was slouched, not standing tall and proud as always. "Please tell me he's alright. He is, right?" Rosa asked in a quiet voice as she was truly afraid of the answer.

Kain looked down as he, for the first time he could remember, actually tried to fight down tears. "I'm afraid not. He's dead." Kain uttered as he tried to keep from crying.

It was too much for Rosa to take, she burst into tears once Kain had confirmed it, the young Dragoon took the sobbing woman into his arms as he tried to ease her pain. Kain looked out of the window at the darken sky he hoped that Cecil had at least found peace in the afterlife. 'How could you leave me with her like this?' The Dragoon couldn't help but question. He knew that he couldn't blame Cecil for dying but a part of him was enraged at his friend for leaving Rosa in such pain, even if it wasn't the fault of the late Dark Knight.

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><p>Hope you all enjoyed that one. Anyway this is much better than what I had, and also a bit longer. I hope you all liked it. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter via review.<p> 


	3. Sorrow

**Bet you all didn't expect to see another chapter of this? Well here it is, after so long of hearing nothing I have decided to dig this story back up and have been diligently working on it for the past week. I don't really have an excuse for leaving this fic idle for so long, but I hope that this chapter makes up for the long wait. (Though even I'm a bit disappointed with it,) But as they say the show must go on, so please enjoy and if you can, spare a review.**

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><p>The Dark Knight of the Mist<p>

Chapter Three: Sorrow

"He has awaken." Refia announced as she stood in the center of the council of seven. "Yesterday when I returned home from our last meeting I found that the youth in my care had finally awoken." The strawberry haired woman revealed.

At this surprising news the rest of the council sat in silence. The members who had wanted the man to be purged from the village were very unsure of what to say. They could see that from the young woman's expression that she wished to keep the young man at her house, at least till he regained his strength. And because of that they knew that fighting with the head of the council would be more than difficult, it'd be nearly impossible.

Elder Simon was also a bit amazed that the man had awakened, but unlike the rest of the council he was able to react with more grace. "How do you foresee his recovery?" He curiously inquired the young woman.

Refia didn't blink as she relayed the man's physical condition. "He has a number of broken bones, and he is still suffering from a small fever. I foresee that he will be fit to leave the village of his own violation in a number of months. Depending on his recovery, that is." Refia muttered the last sentence in an unusually nervous tone.

Elder Simon raised an eyebrow at her feeble whisper. "is there something you're not telling us, High Summoner Refia?" He paused as he allowed his words to sink in slightly before adding in the clincher. "You know the repercussions of withholding information from the council." He stated knowingly.

Refia felt a bit tense at the accusing stares she was receiving but refused to show her unease. "He…The young man, Cecil has apparently lost his memory, he only knew his name, and even he wasn't certain if that is his actual name." She said unsure as to how the council would take in this news.

"Hmm…" Simon said as he looked at all of the other members of the council. They all appeared to be a bit surprised at this news. Sitting down he sighed and looked to Refia. "We'll discuss more on the issue after we have had time to examine the outsider. If he can convince the majority of the council that his intentions are not malice, than he shall be allowed refugee into our village until he wishes to leave." Elder Simon kindly said before darkening his tone a slight bit. "But if he proves to be a threat to our peaceful village…" He left the rest unspoken as everyone knew what course of action would be taken.

Refia was a bit uncertain about this simplistic method of deciding what the immediate future of Cecil should be preformed. But incidentally the council quietly rejoiced at the possible easy way out of possibly purging the village of this threat. Refia looked at the faces of her fellow council members and scowled at them. She wouldn't argue because she was certain that Cecil would prove himself trustworthy of the village. It was only a feeling, but something inside of her heart made her believe that everything would turn out as it should.

Simon looked between all of the council members before speaking in synch with Refia. "Dismissed." The two high ranking members called out as they all moved to exit the room in an organized fashion.

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><p>The sun had already began its decent, the orange light made the now dreary castle of Baron beautiful in its lukewarm light. "I miss him." Rosa murmured as she looked outside. She had cried all night, and all throughout the day, she had cried and cried until her eyes were incapable of producing tears. Biting her lip she stood up and walked over to the window. Looking down at the court yard she could see the new Captain of the Red Wings. 'Golbez.' A part of her despised the man who could so easily take Cecil's title.<p>

It was almost like he was being replaced, and for it to be so soon only added salt to the wound. "Barely a day after being announced dead and the king has already replaced Cecil." She muttered in sorrow and a small bit of bitterness at how the king could so easily replace the man who was like a son to him. She gave a hushed sob as she thought of his gentle and soft smile. Of how he would always speak so kindly to her, yet how he was a brave and fierce knight.

She heard someone knocking on her door. 'Go away.' Rosa mentally begged. The person continued to knock on the door that Rosa refused to open. She just wanted to be alone, alone to drown in her sorrow, alone so that no one could witness the tears. The knocker continued to persist. As the knocking continued Rosa clenched her fist, her nails digging into her skin. It was only when her hands began to bleed that she acknowledged her intruder. "Go away!" Rosa heard her cracked voice call out.

The knocking stopped, the silence that came afterwards stretched on for so long that the blonde haired mage thought her would-be intruder had retreated. That is until he called her name. "Rosa." Kain's voice echoed into her ears.

Rosa looked at the closed door, it was unlocked he could walk in. But she knew that he wouldn't enter her domain without her consent. Giving a tired sigh she walked over to the door while wiping her hands of the minuscule amount of blood. She was surprised to see that he wasn't wearing armor for once. Or at least he wasn't wearing his helm. "Kain." Rosa murmured as she looked into the eyes she rarely ever saw. She could see the sadness in them, but unlike her she could tell that he was doing his best to hide it. "I…I miss him." She admitted as she gave a light sniff.

Kain gave a stiff nod as he was fight to push down the emotions of sorrow and sadness. "I do too. He was, is my best friend." Kain admitted in a very crestfallen tone as he kept his eyes on Rosa. His eyes locked with hers as though he was trying to convey his own sorrow. He knew that she was heartbroken, but she also needed to know that her grief was shared. She couldn't allow herself to dwell in grief for too long or else it would completely destroy her, and Kain wasn't sure if he could deal with losing another close friend.

Rosa moved out of his way as she allowed Kain to step into her bed chambers. "I'm afraid that right after the funeral I won't be around the castle for a while." Kain admitted a bit hesitantly as he gauged Rosa's expression which had became slightly tighter. "The king has given me a job to complete, and I must embark on the day after Cecil's funeral." He admitted grimly.

"I…" Rosa gave a soft sigh as she looked Kain up and down. He sure as hell didn't look like a man who should go on a possibly dangerous mission. His best friend just died for god sakes, not two days ago, and now the king wanted to send a man who is obliviously trying to get over the death of his best friend on a mission? That's ludicrous. "Why would the king send you on a mission so soon after…" She whispered the last part out.

Kain walked over to the same window that Rosa had been peering over earlier. As he made his way over to the window his armor clanked slightly with each step, only when he stopped to lean over the window sill did his armor cease its noises. He could easily make out the figure of Golbez. 'That man…he…' Kain shook his head. Turning to Rosa he studied her. Despite her obliviously being so distraught over the loss of the man she loved she still looked dashingly beautiful to him.

After an unknown amount of time of staring at her he realized that his eyes were lingering on her for just a little too long. Shaking his head he turned away. 'Kain keep it together.' He berated himself. This was the time to help her, not to think about his feelings he had held back for a number of years.

Rosa gave a soft huff as she looked at him. "What?" She said noticing that he had been silent for too long. "Is there something else you wanted to say?" She questioned in a soft curious voice.

Kain nodded as he looked back out the window at the retreating form of Golbez. "The king he has changed." Kain informed the blonde haired woman with a slight bit of uncertainty in his deep voice "I fear that the man we all once knew is gone," He said as he remembered how cold and calloused the king had acted when he was being briefed for his latest mission. "And also a warning." Kain whispered.

"What?" Rosa said as she looked at him, she could see that he was being completely serious and that was not a good thing if she had something to watch out for.

"Stay away from Golbez. Don't ever be alone with him, I don't trust him." Kain said as he walked past her and to the door to her chambers. Rosa didn't break her trance until the sound of the closing door echoed in the room. Turning she saw that the door was closed, she gazed at the spot for a few seconds before walking over to her bed and taking a seat as she mulled over these new thoughts.

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><p>In the Village of the Mist Cecil listened as Rydia told him about herself. "My mommy is the nicest person you could ever meet." She informed him with a bright and innocent smile that could only come from a child. "She also knows when you're lying. One time I stole a cookie from the jar in the kitchen. And five minutes later when she asked if I had taken one she knew I did even when I said no."<p>

Cecil offered a smile. The kid was just too cute, he didn't mind the fact she was pretty much just babbling on about random, not too important things. He didn't have it in him to stop her, with that large happy grin something told Cecil that he'd never be able to get her to shut up even if he wanted to. So he just sat back and allowed her to keep talking.

The green haired girl kept speaking, her words becoming faster and faster as she tried to get all of the information out. "My mom is also the High Summoner of the village. So she's a pretty important person." The young girl stated with underlined pride in her high voice.

Cecil raised an eyebrow at this. For the most part over the last hour all Rydia had spoken about was herself, and her mom. But so far he had heard nothing about her father and he couldn't help but wonder if she even knew her father. "What about your dad?" The young man blurted out without thinking. As soon as the faraway look appeared on the young girl's usually smiling face Cecil got nervous. "Sorry." He muttered.

Rydia's soft brown eyes dulled slightly as she shook her head. "I…I didn't know my daddy." She whispered in a very soft voice which completely contrasted her earlier excited tone. Now she seemed almost to have a sad atmosphere around her, and for some reason it bothered him that he had made her smile disappear. Cecil could easily see that this wasn't an easy subject for her.

Offering a small empathetic smile he spoke. "Hey, it's fine. You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to." He said hoping that she would brighten back up.

Rydia shook her head finding it unacceptable. "No. I do, I said that you're my new best friend. So I think you should hear this if you want to hear it that is." Rydia said while quickly muttering the last part out. Giving a expectant look Cecil took that as a cue to nod or shake his head, he opted with the former.

"Mommy said that my daddy was something called a Dark Knight. And he was also an outsider of this village, kinda like you." The little girl said as she got a faraway look. "The people of the village never liked daddy. Because he wasn't born here, momma said that the villagers are very…" She paused as she tried to recall the big word her mother had used in a bitter-filled tone when she had told the story. "Very intolerant of outsiders." She muttered the last part.

Cecil gave a small nod to show that he was listening. He was still slightly surprised that such a young girl could be so sweet and innocent yet so smart and deep. "So you're father was pushed out of the village?" He inquired.

Rydia shook her head as she fought the urge to cry. "No…mommy said that the villagers had him killed." Cecil looked at the little girl with sadness as she finally allowed tears to seep through her eyes.

Cecil may have lost his memory but he knew that little girls shouldn't be so associated with death, and that's why it was such a surprise to see someone so young had already become fairly familiar with the cold grasp of death, and had suffered greatly from it. Cecil watched as two drops fell onto his bed, as the tears increased slightly in number Cecil found it impossible to speak. He couldn't say that he was sorry, because he didn't feel that words of condolence had any place in this conversation. He only watched her with a sad expression as he waited for her to calm down.

Rydia was not the type of girl to cry, despite being a four-year old she had almost never cried. Some people had whispered of how mature she was for a young child, of how she was growing up faster than most children, of how sharp her eyes always appeared to be when her mother was locked in conversation with a fellow adult. Most wouldn't even begin to guess that the reason was because of the loss of her father, But Rydia always felt that she had no right to cry for the loss of her father, a man she had never met, the man who she had caught her mother crying for late at night.

This had prompted a spurt of growth in her; she lived by the principal that she should never shed any tears unless she had a darn good reason. And even then she knew it wasn't right to cry for long. But that day, while Refia was gone at her meeting with the council, and Cecil had offered a kind ear Rydia cried her heart out. She cried for the man she never knew, the father who had died before she was even born.

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><p>Cecil sighed as he looked down at the little girl who had laid her head on his lap and was now peacefully asleep. He felt bad for her, how could a four year old know that her father was killed by the same village that she resided in and still appear to be happy? The fact that she could still give off such a large smile spoke much. As he looked at the peaceful face of the child Cecil felt connected to the child, he never wanted to see her cry again.<p>

Cecil leaned back in his bed slightly, he was still sitting up and with no back support he was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. But he didn't say anything nor did he dare awake the sleeping child, he wordlessly placed a hand on the girl's head and brushed a stray bit of green away.

Just then the front door opened signaling that Refia had returned from her meeting. "I'm back!" She called out. Seeing that her daughter didn't come rushing to the front door to tackle her in a hug she looked around. "Rydia?" She called out.

"She's in here." Cecil called out as Rydia stirred in her sleep but remained peacefully unaware of the waking world. "She fell asleep." Cecil informed the older woman as she walked into the room. "Didn't really have the heart to wake her." Cecil informed the older woman with a sheepish smile as she came over to him and gently lifted her daughter up.

The strawberry haired woman nodded as she gently readjusted her grasp on her daughter. "I'll put her to bed; I hope that she didn't bother you too much." Refia said as she knew quite well that her daughter could be a handful at times. "You still have a long way to go before making a complete recovery." Refia muttered the last part as she headed to the door.

Cecil shook his head. "Not at all. She's a good kid." Cecil said with a smile as he closed his eyes. 'I don't think anyone could dislike her.' Cecil thought to himself as he looked at the little girl who was drooling slightly. "Though she does have quite a lot of energy."

"She get's that from her father." Refia whispered with a wishful smile before it turned to a frown. "He always was quite the energetic one. Couldn't get him to sit down for more than a minute when we were younger." She whispered as she remembered him. 'Luneth...' She thought to herself as she remembered her husband. 'Those damn council members, because of their paranoia an innocent man was sentenced to death!' She knew that they wanted what was best for their village but the problem with that was they went about protecting

Cecil looked over at the green haired girl that was wrapped in the safety of her mother's arms. Her shoulder length green hair was sprawled over the older woman's shoulder as Refia had spoken. Cecil gave one last glance to Rydia before looking back up at Refia. "Rydia…she told me about what happened to her father."The white haired youth cautiously said as he gauged her reaction.

The older woman looked a bit taken back at that. She looked from her daughter to her new house guest before looking back at her daughter. Refia was slightly surprised to know that Rydia had known all along of her father's death. Refia couldn't help but mentally curse herself as she considered the possibility that Rydia had eavesdropped on one of her conversations that involved the details of how her late husband had been falsely accused and killed.

Refia fixed the young man with a sad smile, sighing she moved to exit the room. "Get some rest Cecil. You'll need it if you want to heal up," The strawberry haired woman stated knowingly as she closed the bedroom door behind her. 'I pray that this isn't an instant where history repeats itself.' Refia muttered in thought as she remembered Luneth's harden face as his sentence was determined. She feared of what could become if Cecil were to be killed, she was afraid of how her daughter, who had taken quite a shine to the white haired man, could react if he were to endure a similar fate as her father did.

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><p>The only sound was the echo of footsteps and the slight clinking of armor as a young spear wielding man stalked through the hallways of castle Baron. As the young Dragoon turned a corner he spotted a familiar large frame of armor. They both kept walking until they were just in front of each other. "Kain." Golbez said as he stopped in the hallway.<p>

The youth paused in his steps. "Golbez." Kain regarded as he stared the man down. Both remained unmoving as they glared at each other.

Golbez stared at the other armored man before speaking. "I am sorry about the loss of your friend, Cecil." Golbez stated casually. "It is a pity that a man as loved as he was met with an untimely end."Golbez said as he waited for the Dragoon's response.

Kain had to do his best to keep from scoffing. "I thank you for your condolences," Kain said as he tried his best not to snarl at the man. "Captain of the Red Wings. But don't worry about the dead. You should only worry about leading the Red Wings. You've got a big pair of shoes that you could never hope to fill." Kain said as he walked past the fully armored man.

As Kain purposely bumped into the larger man he couldn't help but feel a slight bit of satisfaction when he heard Golbez release a slight grunt. While walking away Kain couldn't help but feel the eyes on his back, but he didn't dare to turn around to catch Golbez in the act of staring. No, he simply chose to ignore the man who had would dare replace his best friend's position.

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><p><strong>Hey, as a little side note. I don't know when I will have the next chapter up, I really can't make any promises. Because there is something I want to do for this story before I can continue this story, I plan on rewriting the first two chapters. Not a huge overhaul, just a small bit of revising, maybe reword a few paragraphs, hopefully I can make the story flow better and even add in a thing or two. <strong>

**So that is something to look forward to. I'm not going to say that these revised chapters will be up soon, could be tomorrow or it could be a week from tomorrow. Just don't hold your breath. Until then, **


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